German arrested in child abuse case involving 175 BERLIN, AFP

BERLIN--German police have arrested a 52-year-old man suspected of sexually assaulting 175 minors, most of them pre-adolescents, a prosecutor told the DPA news agency on Saturday.

The suspect was detained after clues emerged in the investigation into the disappearance of a 14-year-old mentally handicapped boy who went missing a month ago in a town south of Berlin, said the prosecutor for the eastern city of Cottbus, Petra Hertwig.

The boy was found Friday in the suspect's apartment, where he was believed to have been held.

The arrested man is suspected of molesting 100 prepubescent children and 75 adolescents over the past two decades.